5 WWE wrestlers who should've used their real names

Modified Aug 12, 2020 23:22 GMT

The Big Dog could've done with a little rebranding

#2 WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat

If he'd been a heel, the Dragon might've had a much more menacing name

This is kind of cheating. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat didn't start his career in WWE so it's not technically something that can be blamed on them, but his real name is worth putting on this list. Steamboat is one of the greatest professional wrestlers who ever lived. A former NWA World Champion, and possibly the greatest rival of Ric Flair, the WWE Hall of Famer certainly had an incredible career.

When he kickstarted his career, Eddie Graham noticed that Richard Blood bore an incredible resemblance to Sammy Steamboat, a wrestler from Hawaii. Graham actually felt that Rick Blood would've been a fantastic name for a wrestler, but only if he was going to be a heel.

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Since he was a face, however, they couldn't use it. Therefore, Ricky Steamboat was born, and in some cases was billed as the son or nephew of Sammy Steamboat, though there is actually no blood relation there.

Still, a face couldn't be Rick Blood? Think of the promos. "My Blood's boiling now." "Rick Blood bleeds Red, White, and Blue." "Blood is flowing through the veins of (insert federation here)." Just saying, it's something that could've worked.

About the author

Greg is a pro wrestling writer at Sportskeeda. He has been an avid wrestling fan since he was able to do elbow drops off bunkbeds at the age of three. He's gone through the highs and lows of the Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression, and PG eras and lived to tell the tale, with his favorite wrestler of all time being Diamond Dallas Page. His other favorite star is the late great Bray Wyatt.

Greg has contributed to sites like Bleacher Report before joining Sportskeeda in 2017 as a content writer and editor. If you've ever checked out the various wrestling shows through our live coverage, chances are you've read Greg's work. Apart from the world within the squared circle, he also keeps track of other sports such as American football, baseball, golf, boxing, and MMA.

His goal with his writing is to be able to mentally take readers right into the action through his words. Greg strives to ensure his readers get nothing but the best and most accurate information by always checking and using only the best and most reliable sources.

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Edited by Andrea Hangst